5 Years from Now.
One of the biggest traps I’ve fallen into over the years is assuming that the version of me standing here today is the final draft.
I know I’ll grow and learn, but I tend to project my current values, priorities, and identity far into the future as if they’ll hold steady. And, because I’m decisive, I’ll make big commitments, business deals, partnerships, even personal promises, without fully asking whether the me of five years from now will want to live inside them.
I’ve signed agreements, bought into ideas, and set goals that made perfect sense for the man I was then, only to realize later that I’d changed in ways I couldn’t have predicted.
Sometimes those changes were subtle. My priorities shifted a little and my capacity changed.
Sometimes they were massive. My faith deepened, my relationships faded, and my understanding of calling turned in a different direction.
We all have this tendency.
We take who we are today and imagine forward as if it’s permanent. We think, “Of course I’ll still want this. I’m me.”
Here’s the truth: you won’t be the same you in five years.
Life will push you, pull you, and stretch you in ways you can’t see coming. You’ll have new information. You’ll have scars you didn’t plan on and opportunities you didn’t expect.
The problem with assuming stability is that it can lock you into commitments that quietly box in your future self.
If you’ve ever looked at your calendar, your financial obligations, or even your relationships and thought, “What was I thinking?” Then that’s a sure sign your past self made a decision without checking in with your future self.
I’ve learned to ask a simple but uncomfortable question: “Will this still matter to the me of five years from now?”
It’s not about playing it safe, it’s about getting really honest with myself. When I don’t ask it, I risk building a life that fits a past version of me but not the present one. I’ve taken on business ventures because they were exciting in the moment, only to find they tied up my energy long after the excitement faded. I’ve made personal commitments because they felt right, but they didn’t leave room for the person I was becoming.
It’s easy to convince yourself that you’re the exception, that your core identity is set, that your “non-negotiables” are timeless. But, when was the last time you revisited them?
I try to sit down at least once a year and write out what I truly won’t compromise on. Sometimes the list looks the same. Other times I’m surprised to see how much has shifted.
My definition of success today isn’t the same as it was ten years ago. My idea of freedom has evolved. Even the way I measure relationships has changed. If I keep pretending the old definitions still fit, I end up building around a blueprint I’ve already outgrown.
The discipline I’ve found most helpful is what I call my future self check-in. I’ll take one current commitment, something big enough to shape my time, energy, or resources, and I’ll imagine living with it five years from now.
Would I still see it as a win? Would it still feel like me?
If I picture myself in 2030, would I be glad I said YES to this, or would I wish I’d left room for something else?
It’s amazing how often this exercise reveals where I’m overcommitting, chasing old goals, or holding onto roles that no longer fit. Sometimes I don’t change anything right away, but I do start planning for a graceful exit instead of locking myself in deeper.
It’s also not just about pruning commitments, it’s about creating space for the unknown.
Five years from now, there will be opportunities I can’t imagine today. If I fill every corner of my life now with what I already know, I leave no room for them to land. So I’ve started protecting a certain amount of margin, not because I’m indecisive, but because I’m making a decision to leave room for growth.
That’s a different kind of confidence.
If you’ve never done it, take fifteen minutes this week and picture your life in 2030. Not in some vague, “hope it all works out” way, but with real detail.
Where are you living? Who are you with? What does your day look like? Which commitments feel life-giving, and which feel heavy? Now work backward and ask yourself, “What might I regret not adjusting now?”
You might find you’ve been carrying something that doesn’t belong to your future anymore. You might also find you need to really invest on something that will.
The truth is, you’re going to change. That’s not a threat, it’s a gift.
The danger isn’t in becoming someone new. It’s in building a life so rigid that your future self can’t breathe inside it.
But, if you can make decisions today that leave space for who you’re becoming, you’ll thank yourself five years from now.
And, that “thank you” will be worth more than any short-term comfort you gave your current self.
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Steve Knox | Dublin, Ireland
\\\ Thanks as always for reading. Please forward and share with your circle of amigos. Until next week. Be honest. Be you.